FORUM: “Equal Pay for work of equal value — For everyone, everywhere.” International Equal Pay Day 2026. During the day, we will celebrate achievements and discuss the challenges on the way to achieving equal pay as well as provide an opportunity for you to make a new equal pay pledge. Across all regions, women are paid less than men, with the gender pay gap estimated at around 20% globally. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls continue to be held back owing to the persistence of historical and structural unequal power relations between women and men, poverty and inequalities and disadvantages in access to resources and opportunities that limit women’s and girls’ capabilities. Progress on narrowing that gap has been slow. While equal pay for men and women has been widely endorsed, applying it in practice has been difficult. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promote decent work and economic growth by seeking full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value. Mainstreaming of a gender perspective is crucial in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Achieving equal pay is an important milestone for human rights and gender equality. It takes the effort of the entire world community and more work remains to be done. Follow the conversation with the hashtags #EqualPayDay, #GenerationEquality, #SDG5, #EqualPay and #18September.
EVENTS: You are invited attend a High-Level Pledging Event to mark International Equal Pay Day 2026 on September 18th, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm EDT organized by the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), which is led by the International Labour Organization , the UN Women, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). During the observance of the International Equal Pay Day, the ILO is reaffirming a fundamental principle: work of equal value deserves equal pay. The participants are invited to share lessons learned and good practices that can be adapted and applied to different contexts.
On International Equal Pay Day, the ILO reiterates a simple but fundamental principle: work of equal value deserves equal pay.
Yet women around the world earn 18 per cent less than men.
This is not just a statistic. It is millions of women whose work supports families, businesses, communities and economies, but who are still not being paid fairly.
This must change.
Together, governments, employers and workers can remove the structural barriers that underpin this injustice and strengthen the laws and institutions that promote equal pay. And through social dialogue, including collective bargaining, they can address the undervaluation of work done by women, strengthen pay transparency, build fairer wage structures, and ensure that women have an equal voice in shaping their economic life.
The world of work is changing profoundly. But our principles remain steadfast.
The new Resolution concerning the ILO transformative agenda for gender equality in the world of work only confirms our determination to close the gender pay gap.
Equal pay is a matter of rights, principle, dignity and social justice – for every worker, everywhere.
ILO Director-general.
Equal pay for work of equal value is therefore critical for reducing poverty, advancing women’s economic justice and rights, and building more inclusive economies globally.
This year has brought renewed momentum. At the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, governments, employers, workers, and private-sector leaders renewed commitments to tackling the structural barriers holding women back at work. The adoption in June of ILO Convention no. 193, the first international labour standard on decent work in the platform economy, holds the potential for stronger protections for women working through digital platforms – from unfair pay, harassment, and discrimination to opaque algorithmic decisions.
Through the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), UN Women, ILO, and OECD continue to work with governments, employers, workers’ organizations, and other partners to turn commitments on equal pay into action.
At a time of economic uncertainty and widening inequality, equal pay is not only a matter of justice. It strengthens families, economies, and societies.
As the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly opens in New York, UN Women reaffirms its commitment to women’s economic empowerment as a cornerstone of our Strategic Plan 2026–2029.
Closing the gender pay gap is possible. What is needed now is action – to ensure that every woman is valued equally for work of equal value.
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